A few days ago I had a conversation with a protestant brother about Mother Mary. I felt that more clear answer was needed for the question he raised. We all know that comparing Mary to an egg shell is inappropriate. However I did go to the Blessed Sacrament to find the answer to another question he asked. He said, I don’t think Mother Mary is the world’s best mother. I know of so many mothers who have suffered more than her or loved more than her. As I was praying in the chapel holding my Rosary, the Lord jogged a memory in me and gave me the response I was looking for.

When it is time to buy the monthly grocery, my dad would give the money to my mother and it was her responsibility to buy the things needed for the house. The reason for her to choose the things she wanted to buy was that whatever my brother or my dad or I bought were either not good or did not match with the things we had. It was true in the case of buying clothes or things for the house. But we have never seen her selection go wrong. At times my dad would jokingly comment that her selection is always super and that is why she chose him. We all know that a person who selects the best has the knowledge and the expertise to do so.

It is a fact that all of us can not choose everything all the time. We may get the opportunity to choose our life partner, our vehicles or clothes but the one thing we can’t chose is our mother. We may have prayed for a handsome or beautiful partner but we never got the chance to pray for a good mother.

When the Lord sends a new soul to the world and if that soul were asked who do you want for your mother, they would have responded, “I want my mother to be beautiful, mature, calm, composed patient and kind, however no one has that choice. There was only one person who could choose his own mother and it was Jesus Christ. If the Lord should choose someone to be his mother, then she would need to be pure, holy, beautiful and full of character. And I got my answer, that Mother Mary is the best mother in the world. I kissed the Rosary that I was holding and walked out of the chapel.

Dear friends, we have a loving mother. She is not our mother because she conceived us, but because she holds us in our heart. Let us love and experience this mother and let us be proud of the fact that we have a mother in heaven.

Bro. Joyal Panachipuram CST